Next Up

18 Mar 2010

Then I embarked on a Foundation Art course at University College for the Creative Arts, specifying in Moving Image and Photography, where I had the chance to meet some wierd and wonderful people, and make a few films.

I started off by making an complicated film about poker cheats. The brief was that the protagonists had to communicate without talking.
Next, we had to work individually on a project that had to be based on a piece of text. I chose 'In God We Trust', the words at the top of the US Dollar Bill. It was a montage of images of historical American controversies, such as the Vietnam war, the Iraq war, assassination of JFK.

In groups again, we were singled out to shoot a promotional corporate documentary for a Skills Fair. Among the guests present were Linda Barker (the Designer), Kim Wilde (The "Kids in America" singer, turned professional media gardener) and Craig Phillips (He won the first Big Brother, and now does DIY shows.) The project was used in the official capacity by the promoters to show to school kids.

Since then, I went to do a Law degree, at London South Bank University, so in order to maintain an interest in creative projects, I switched my focus from being behind the camera to being in front of it. However, this was largely a sabbatical in order to concentrate on studying.
I was a founder member of the univeristy's Shakespeare Society (with credit to Craig Legg and Jordan Lownds for starting it up, and the other members included Amy Tighe, James Long, Phillip Kerrigan, Sebastian Schweers, Rehan Malik, Sean Cowell Blake and Kerry Lambeth), performing in Macbeth as Banquo and then appeared in David Bull's and Robert Turner's graduation films.

After I graduated, I moved to Belfast, and immediately auditioned for the South Bank Players production of JM Synge's Playboy of the Western World, directed by Michelle Marken and played the role of Jimmy Farrell.

This weekend, I wrapped filming on a student project, "The Conversation," written and directed by Sinead McDonald, a tense study of a young man battling his inner conscience, based on true events. Editing is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.